Thursday, June 7, 2012

“The agrarian reform dispute-cases of Hacienda Luisita, Hacienda Looc
in Batangas, Roxas-Araneta lands in Bulacan, among others, are concrete
cases where landlords made use of the Carper to evade land
distribution.” – Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIOBulatlat.com

MANILA — As the countdown to the anniversary of the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program begins, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas
(KMP) called on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP) to rethink their position on what it described as a “bogus and
anti-peasant Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with
Reforms (Carper).”

The KMP issued the statement after reports quoted Manila Auxiliary
Bishop Rev. Roderick Pabillo as saying that at least 28 members of the
100-strong CBCP signed a letter requesting an audience with President
Benigno Aquino III on behalf of farmers to seek his firm commitment on
the implementation of the CARP. Pabillo also heads the CBCP’s
National Secretariat for Social Action – Justice and Peace.

In terms of agrarian reform, the CBCP said, the Aquino
administration has got the worst distinction compared to other post-EDSA
administrations.

In a report posted on the official CBCP news site, Pabillo said, the
current Department of Agrarian Reform has been consistently
underperforming in implementing agrarian reform, particularly in land
acquisition and distribution (LAD). He said there is a huge backlog of
1,093,000 hectares from the targeted lands to be distributed. In 2011,
he said, the DAR accomplished 54.6 percent of its national LAD target;
and that there had also been no significant movement in the
135,199-hectare total provincial backlog as of January 2012 and no
notices of coverage has been issued on large estates..... MORE